Filipino tennis prodigy Alex Eala eyes to continue her winning ways when she faces unseeded Maja Chwalinska of Poland in the quarterfinals of the W25 Grenoble event in France Friday, Feb. 12 (Friday night, Manila time).
It will be a battle of the young guns anew as Eala, 15, meets Chwalinska, 19, who defeated 32-year-old French qualifier Gaelle Desperrier, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Eala is ranked No. 903, from No. 1190 two weeks ago, while Chwalinska holds the No. 220 spot in the Women's Tennis Association.
Eala, who plays in her second $25,000 tournament as a junior exempt, is coming from an upset win against seventh seed Cristina Busca of Spain, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8) to mark her fourth quarterfinals appearance in the professional rank.
After three grueling sets, the Filipino youngster proved to be a force to be reckoned with and edged the 23-year-old Spaniard, who ranks No. 164 in the WTA.
Eala had a successful three-leg run in W15 Manacor in Spain where she bagged her first pro title in January before settling for quarterfinal finishes in both second and third leg early this month.